The use of aspirin for reducing the risk of a myocardial infarction and the use of statins for lowering cholesterol and preventing or treating atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease are well documented. In fact, it is not uncommon that patients having elevated cholesterol levels who are at high risk for a myocardial infarction take both a statin and aspirin. However, use of both a statin and aspirin may require special care to insure that drug interaction, including physical and chemical incompatibility, and side effects, are kept to a minimum while achieving maximum benefit from these drugs.
With regard to possible drug interaction, aspirin is an acid, while some of the statins, such as pravastatin, atorvastatin and cerivastatin, are alkali salts. Thus, mixing of such statins (alkali salts) with aspirin could result in aspirin hydrolysis as well as statin degradation. Pravastatin, on the other hand, is also a very acid labile compound. When pravastatin and aspirin are combined, the aspirin could cause pravastatin degradation which could result in lower bioavailability of pravastatin.
Aspirin is known for causing gastrointestinal bleeding when used for long-term therapy. It is therefore desirable in long-term aspirin therapy that the aspirin be provided in a form which minimizes side effects.
In view of the above, it is seen that there is a long-felt want in patients required to take both a statin and aspirin for a statin-aspirin formulation which provides for maximum cholesterol lowering and reduction of risk of a myocardial infarction without the undesirable side effects and drug interaction normally associated with use of such combination.